Blog | OSX | mechdrew

The title says it all… almost. Since NBI 0.8.4 RC1 no longer provides support for 10.5 Leopard, I decided to break the guide in two. The new guide features instructions only for Snow Leopard, so the list is much shorter and there should be less confusion. The Leopard instructions are still preserved (sans 10.6.x instructions) in the Guides sections should you still desire to install the older OS.

I’m working on an update guide next for those of you who already have a working Snow Leopard system.

I bit the bullet today: 10.6.0 is currently running on my Mini 10v, with 10.6.2 downloading as I type. One major reason for my hesitancy is the fact that I am running a rather touchy triple boot setup. I could get either Windows XP or Windows 7 installed with Mac OS X, but not both. I need XP for some legacy software (okay, it’s just Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition, LAN multiplayer requires IPX) and of course I’m going to have the latest Windows OS if I’m going to multi-boot. Since they don’t play friendly together with the usual hybrid GUID/MBR partition scheme that NetbookInstaller helps set up, I needed a MBR-only solution to fix it.

Granted, this was two months ago. It’s been working fine, but it took a lot of trial and error to get there. You can see why I would hesitate to mess around with it anymore. When I got Snow Leopard, I fully intended to install it, but I needed it to install on MBR, and Apple had changed the OSInstall.mpkg structure so that the Leopard MBR mode wouldn’t work.

Well, after two months I am still no closer to actually figuring out what is needed for the mod. I had to download two different pre-hacked files before it would actually work. Before I started the install process, I made a bit-for-bit backup of my harddrive using the dd command line tool just in case it screwed up everything.

I was actually very surprised that I didn’t run into more problems. The only real gripes were a very inaccurate progress bar during the install and slow performance on the first boot after that. A little help from NetbookInstaller and all is well again.

Like most others, I’m not impressed immediately by any of the upgrades, but perhaps over the next few days things will become more apparent.

Update: I just finished the 10.6.2 update. I’m impressed again by how easy it was. Instead of the normal Combo Update route, I was able to just run NetbookInstaller and then use the Software Update app. Of course, now it says the CPU is a Core Solo, and I did have a minor hiccup with sound (I had also installed some additional kexts that were conflicting with it) but overal it was really easy.

So right under my nose until this week, there were some folks working on getting Snow Leopard to be functional on the Dell Mini 10 (not 10v) which uses a normally incompatible graphics chip. I can’t say that it’s all sunshine and daisies there right now, a lot of work is still needing to be done, but this is promising nonetheless.

Less than 24 hours after I posted about Snow Leopard’s Atom conundrum, Apple goes off and actually releases a final build. And much to our dismay, it kills the Atom, despite the glimmer of hope after one of the builds added support back. So don’t update right now, unless you are an advanced user. (If you know how to do it, back up your mach kernel from 10.6.1 and then replace the 10.6.2 kernel with your backup. I’m not supporting this, just saying.)

Feel free to comment about the kernel issue, but I will not be replying about the process. After all, I’m still running good old 10.5.8.

I’ve noticed a few e-mails in my inbox (I’m still sorting through answering them) and there is one question that has popped up a bit: will the 10.6.2 OS update kill our pretty little Dell Macs? Here’s the answer: no one knows.

When this issue first popped up, meklort had stated on the MDM forums that it was a kernel issue, since using the kernel from 10.6.1 on a developer build of 10.6.2 made it work.

Then, while I was gone, it was reported that a later developer build suddenly worked again. And wouldn’t you know it, the latest build apparently knocks it out again. My, my, my….

Here’s the deal, folks. Speculation will not get us anywhere right now. We can’t make a fix for a problem that may or may not exist in the final release build. But you can be assured of one thing: your netbooks will be just fine. Hopefully the final build won’t kill off the Atom processor, and even if it does it will be a very short time before it is fixed. So just wait until it actually comes out and see what happens. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Big news folks: NetbookInstaller 2 has been written and uploaded! This guide allows those who do not have a Mac running Leopard or Snow Leopard to install Mac OS X via USB disk drives. This includes steps for Windows, Linux, and Tiger! After weighing all the options I finally found a solution for Windows that didn’t require a bunch of bloated software, and it also makes the techniques similar for all three operating systems.

I’ve also made a few adjustments to the NetbookInstaller 1 guide, and guide 3 has been updated to reflect the newer NetbookCD 0.8.3 RC3 ISO that has just been uploaded. Go check it out, have fun, and of course leave your comments or e-mails about your experience with these new updates.

I just bought Snow Leopard today. Mainly I bought it out of curiousity and also for the guides, so many have switched at this point that I’m feeling like an idiot when people ask about SL. I haven’t actually opened it yet, still has that plastic wrap on it, and probably won’t for a few days. I’ll explain in a later post.

Thanks to the feedback from viewers here and some forum members over MyDellMini, NetbookCD 1.1 has been released today. This release primarily consists of a fix for the Snow Leopard verison, which for all intents and purposes just didn’t work for the 1.0 Final release. Also included on both versions is a CD edition of the NetbookInstaller 3 guide, providing easier access and a reference tool for users without requiring Internet access. You can find the new releases on the NetbookInstaller 3 Guide page or on the Downloads page.

Well isn’t that nice! I was expecting tomorrow to be the release date for 0.8.2 final, but it’s out NOW! A huge thanks to meklort for his work. This release supports patching Snow Leopard, but I still don’t have it so my guide will be delayed two weeks or more. It has also been reported that 0.8.3 work has already begun.

Get it:
NetbookBootMaker Final
NetbookInstaller 0.8.2 Final

And just in time; I was going to begin rewriting the guides tonight! I’ll update the links in Method 1 first before working on Method 2. I also have an external DVD drive for tonight only, so that will be updated as well. Expect some changes on the site throughout the night and coming week!

After a few people have requested information on when some of the guide will be updated, here is the current priority list for what I am working on. It is subject to change, but this is the general idea:

1. Windows-only install guide for Mac-noobs who don’t have a Mac available to run the typical installation method.
2. External DVD drive update, as soon as I get full confirmation that the boot CD works.
3. Multi-boot guide with special emphasis on the RTM (gold master) version of Windows 7.
4. Snow Leopard. ‘Nuff said.
5. Mac OS X Installer customization methods. Details on how to add your own information, including a custom Welcome screen.
6. Revised troubleshooting tips.
7. Software recommendations and notes for installation.
8. Hardware upgrades, Mac-compatible.

I also need to update the Contact page, I had tried before but for some reason it won’t load. Don’t worry, the current Contact page is fully functional.

On a related note, I am trying to complete as many of these objectives as possible before Wednesday, September 9th. This is because from that day until the end of the month I will have limited Internet access, maybe only once or twice a week. This will make it difficult to keep up with answering questions related to these methods of installation since the instructions aren’t posted. Just giving everyone a advance warning.